myStampBOX: Collage Cards

Today the designers at myStamp BOX are sharing projects using collage stamping. I used a piece of coral paper from Bo Bunny's Baby Bump collection that had subtle flower outlines in the background. I used Ornamental Flowers and Pumice Stone Distress Ink to create more layers of flowers. I was totally confused by grey ink when it was released (why on earth would they make that?) As soon as I used it I was a complete convert! For this background I stamped the flowers once then immediately stamped again without reinking to get the second set of shadow images. Layers, people, layers!

I added a black border across the center using Decorative Strips. The flower shape was similar to the background, and the deeper color helped the pattern stand out. The sentiment from Whatever says exactly what it means - this card is for no reason at all except to say hi. I stamped the sentiment twice, once in teal and again in black to create a shadow effect.

Stop by the myStamp BOX blog today
for more collage stamping projects!

myStampBOX: With Sympathy

Sometimes the simplest gestures mean the most. Today I'm sharing a card I made for a friend who lost someone dear. The mesh border is from Repeat After Me, the sentiment from Everyday Lines, and the butterfly from Colorful Companions. The butterfly was stamped onto patterned paper and embellished with a gentle touch of glitter pen and pearls. All stamps are available in the myStamp BOX online store.

Design Team Feature: Inks

Designers from myStamp BOX joined creative forces today to share projects featuring VersaColor Inks from product partner Tsukineko Co, Ltd. Here's what I made.

(Click on any photo for a closer look.)

I received Cardinal and Turquoise inks and loved the color combo. I found a piece of school-themed paper from My Mind's Eye with handwriting lines in the same colors, so that started as the perfect base for my stamped panel. I used the coffee swirl stamp from Enjoy Your Latte! along the top and bottom of the panel to create a graphic border. Thanks was stamped across the center using Lots of Dots - Sentiments.

This super cute nerdy bird comes from Warm Tweets. I stamped him in black and colored in all the details using Marvy le Plume II markers. I raised him up on dimensional adhesive to give some lift to the card and focal point image. I plan to use this card as a teacher thank you at the end of school this year.

Be sure to stop by the myStamp BOX blog
for more inky inspiration!

myStamp BOX Feature: Celebrate!

(Click the photo for a closer look.)

Today some of the designers at myStamp BOX are sharing projects that celebrate special events. With all the hashtag craze in social media, I decided to use that symbol from Oversized and letters from Friday Night Stencil to create my card sentiment. I stamped the hashtag twice with two different colors of ink to give a shadow effect.

Layered underneath the sentiment panel is a border made with washi tape and a month/date strip stamped from Timelines. This set of stamps is particularly helpful for creating projects with exact months, dates, or days of the week.

Be sure to check out the other
celebration projects
today at myStamp BOX!

myStamp BOX ALL PLAY: Sparkle

The Design Team members at myStampBOX are sharing projects that sparkle and shine today. Here's what I made.

My style can usually be described much like my life - grungy and a little bit distressed around the edges. This year I am stretching out of my comfort zone in an effort to try new things. For my "sparkle" card today I did not ink the edges of anything or distress any elements. I aimed for a clean, graphic design with bold designs. I think I got it!

I stamped the square image from Back to the Basics many times on black cardstock using silver embossing powder, then punched circles randomly from the embossed pattern. I layered them onto a premade blue card, making sure the black lines on the cardstock were "pointed" in different directions. I liked the look of this, especially with the zigzag lines of the patterned embossing. The sentiment from Small Greetings was punched and layered onto black cardstock so it would stand out from the background. The final design touch was adding small, blue rhinestones in a floating pattern up the center of the card. I even attached one rhinestone in the middle of the sentiment.

Be sure to see all the designer projects at the
myStamp BOX blog today!

mSB ALL PLAY: Tags

Today at myStamp BOX we are sharing projects featuring tags. Tags are especially helpful at this time of year and can be a decorative addition to gifts. I used a strip cut from a paint sample from the home improvement store as an embellishment down the side. I stamped sentiments from Santa's Tags directly onto the tag, overlapping the paint strip. Click on the project photo for a closer view.

The stocking was also stamped directly onto the tag using the Dotty Christmas set of stamps. I stamped the top of the stocking onto white cardstock, cut it out, and adhered it to the tag. The entire stocking image was covered with Stickles glitter glue for a little extra sparkle.

Be sure to check out the myStamp BOX store for these and other great stamp sets!

myStampBOX: Design Team Call

 

It's time for a new Design Team Call at myStamp BOX! Go check out all the details to find out how you can join our creative team of designers.

Crafts 'n Things Feature: myStamp BOX Monkey

One of my very favorite projects was featured at the Crafts 'n Things magazine newsletter this week. Come check it out!

myStampBOX: Bee Happy

I recently got the myStampBOX set called Garden Sketches. I'm not a particularly-flowery stamper, but there are some lovely stamps in this set that I really like! I love the casual, hand-drawn look to the images. For this card I stamped the bee and colored him with watercolor pencils. A little yellow pigment pen brightened up his body. The sentiment came from Mention It!

 

Here's a peek at how this card goes together. I die cut a window into the front of the card and stamped a simple panel with the image and greeting for the inside. The most important thing for this technique is making sure that everything shows up properly through the window.

Have a great day!

myStampBOX: Thanks

I've had a tough time recently following my knee injury, and many of my friends and family have stepped up to help us. I have been making thank you card as a way to let them know how much I appreciate all their help!

I started with a printed piece of cardstock from Authentique with script on it. I then stamped the lines circle from Bottlecaps in red, green, and blue inks randomly across the patterned paper. I also added the tiny dots cluster from Garden Sketches.

Once everything was dry I trimmed a band of coordinating paper for across the center and added the sentiment from Lots of Dots - Sentiments and one more flower from Bottlecaps. I colored in the funky flower and layered the whole panel onto a card made from cardstock.

Try making some handmade thank you cards for the people who help you. It's a simple act that means so much!

myStampBOX: Can't Thank You Enough

Here's another card created using my very favorite stamps, ones from myStampBOX! I used the thank you sentiment from He Loves Me inked first in blue and then in green to create my own background paper. I chose a flower embellishment from my pal Celeste and replaced the center with a stamped medallion from Oval Office. Thank you cards are so great to keep on hand. I know I'll be using mine soon!

myStampBOX: Thinking of You

Stopping by today to share a quick card using the No Place Like Home stamp set from myStamp BOX. Here's a closer look at this set:

It's fun to stamp and color these houses, but for my card I stamped on different patterned papers and paper pieced them together. A sentiment from Everyday Lines finished the card.

Check back in a few days for more projects featuring myStamp BOX!

myStampBOX: Color Inspiration

The Design Team members at myStamp BOX are sharing projects inspired by the colors in this beautiful photo. Here's what I made:

I loved the look of the inspiration photo. The bright colors on the dark background reminded me of space, so I tried to recreate that effect in my background using Distress Inks and water with Perfect Pearls. I stamped a border from Decorative Strips across the center of the card and added a sentiment from Happy Word Jumble. I added a few dots of Stickles to the flowers in the border for some extra sparkle.

Be sure to stop by the myStamp BOX blog today to see all the other awesome designer projects!

myStampBOX: Happy Day

Check out the myStampBOX blog today for the details on my shimmery dragonfly card!

myStampBOX: Pattern Inspiration ALL PLAY

Today the Design Team members at myStamp BOX are sharing projects they made based on two different photographs with unique patterns and interlocking lines. I chose the photo of Ukranian eggs and was especially drawn to the bright blue egg with white designs.

I created a background for my card using the Border Lines set of stamps. I had fun fitting together stamp shapes, almost like a puzzle, to see which ones created a pleasing pattern. I embossed the design using myStamp BOX's new white embossing powder and then inked over the design with Tim Holtz Distress Ink. The sentiment in the center is from Itty Bittys.

Be sure to visit the myStampBOX blog today for all the
designer projects!

myStampBOX: Just a Little Hello

Stopping by today to share a card made using myStampBOX stamps and embossing powder. The golden tones of this card make me happy inside!

Repeat After Me
Oval Office

Be sure to stop by on March 28th for our next team ALL PLAY post featuring projects inspired by Celtic knots and Ukranian Easter eggs!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here in Indy we celebrate St. Patrick's Day all weekend! We "greened the canal" earlier in the week, we also held a parade and a race. Tonight we're headed downtown for some family events including Shamrockin' the Circle. Everyone's Irish this weekend!

Today I'm sharing a card I made using two of my favorite companies. The background paper and stickers are from Karen Foster Design. The gorgeous Celtic-inspired knots are from the myStamp BOX set called Graphic Borders. I embossed using myStamp BOX's new embossing powders, available soon. The sentiment is from the set called Whatever.

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

myStampBOX: Flowered Journal

Check out my flowered journal post at the myStampBOX blog today featuring our new embossing powders.

myStampBOX: Creative Jump Start ALL PLAY

 

(Click on photos for a closer look.)

Today the Design Team members at myStampBOX are sharing projects inspired by the Creative Jump Start Summit 2013. Here's what I made for my sweet friend, Cheryl, for her birthday this week. She loves purple, so I started there! 

I used a die cut circle as a large mask on the center of a white cardstock panel. I brushed two shades of purple paint onto the cardstock and then brushed over with white to soften the look. 

Once it was dry, I stamped a flower from myStampBOX's Abundant Blossoms using the same two shades of purple paint onto a scrap of white cardstock. When stamping with paint, it's easy to overstamp and get globs of paint onto your project. I then stamped onto the background panel, overlapping the mask in the center occasionally. I like how the image didn't always stamp perfectly. It matched the shabby feel of the whitewash background. When the background dried, I lightly sprayed over the entire panel with a mist of Perfect Pearls to get a subtle shimmer. When everything was completely dry, I removed the mask and inked around the edge of the panel with purple chalk ink.

I found the large blinged-out letter C for my friend several months before her birthday and knew it would be the centerpiece for her card. The large white circle seemed a bit stark, so I added a border of black Stickles. I realized that most of my stamped-off paint flowers looked really pretty, so I handcut a few and attached them around the circle with foam dots. I added rhinestone centers and Stardust Stickles for a little extra sparkle. I'm pretty sure Cheryl would have been disappointed if there wasn't ENOUGH sparkle on her card!

Here's another look at the card. Using paint with stamps is something that I haven't done in years, so that plus the painted background and pearly spray mist were fun to use. Thanks to all the artists and designers who provided projects and videos to inspire us! Be sure to check out the other Design Team projects at the myStampBOX blog today, too.

myStampBOX: Better Get Better

It's cold and flu season! Stop by the myStamp BOX blog for all the details about my get well card.